Special Offer
Book and travel before April 30, 2014, and save 20% on the recommended retail price.
Enjoy personal attention from your expert guide on this group tour, limited to 25 people.
Highlights
- 1.25-hour guided Doge's Palace tour with skip-the-line entrance ticket
- Tour the beautiful public rooms and see Renaissance artwork by Tintoretto and Veronese
- Learn about the doges of Venice, who ruled the city for a thousand years
- Enjoy exclusive access to the Piombi attic prison, where Casanova was once held
- Walk across the Bridge of Sighs to explore the New Prisons
Recent Photos of This Tour
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Reflections of VeniceA quiet Sunday afternoon in the back and quot;streets and quot; of Venice. Mario did a great job of taking us slowly ...Photo by: Nicole D
04 2014 -
Inside outView from inside the Bridge of Sighs.Photo by: Cheryl P
01 2014 -
Sunrise at the Doge's PalaceWalking around the corner of the palace to meet the morning tour.Photo by: Cheryl P
01 2014 -
VeniceJust one view from the PalacePhoto by: Michelle M
09 2013 -
View from the Bridge Of SighsWalking from the Doges Palace to the new prisons, passing across the Bridge of Sighs as the prisoners would have done ...Photo by: linda
08 2013 -
Inside the Bridge of Sighs!Walking from the Doge's Palace to the Prisons!Photo by: rosebuds63
07 2013 -
The Golden StaircasePhotos can't do this justice!Photo by: rosebuds63
07 2013 -
Doge's ParadiseInside the CourtyardPhoto by: rosebuds63
07 2013 -
View of the canals from the ...Doge's Palace TourPhoto by: Dino D
05 2013 -
Bridge of SighsView from the bridge of sighsPhoto by: Marcus H
10 2012 -
IMG_0487One of the statuesPhoto by: Marcus H
10 2012 -
IMG_0448Patio AreaPhoto by: Marcus H
10 2012 -
Our GuideOur fantastic guide providing us with some useful information!Photo by: Marcus H
10 2012 -
Summer 12 in VeniceStanding in front of the Doges PalacePhoto by: Scott F
USA, 08 2012 -
Doge's Palace Secret ...Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries TourPhoto by: Anonymous
08 2012 -
Doge's Palace Secret ...Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries TourPhoto by: Anonymous
08 2012 -
Doge's Palace Secret ...Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries TourPhoto by: Anonymous
08 2012 -
Doge's Palace Secret ...Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries TourPhoto by: Anonymous
08 2012 -
Doge's Palace Secret ...Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries TourPhoto by: Anonymous
08 2012 -
Doge's Palace Secret ...Doge's Palace Secret Itineraries TourPhoto by: Anonymous
08 2012 -
What You Can Expect
See the Bridge of Sighs at Doge's Palace
Easily Venice's most famous building, Doge’s Palace (or Palazzo Ducalo in Italian) is a mesmerizing example of Venetian Gothic architecture at its finest. Created in the 14th century for the doges of Venice, the rulers of the former Venetian Republic, the palace contains elaborately decorated public rooms alongside darker hidden chambers.
Start your 1.25-hour Doge’s Palace tour by exploring these ornate public rooms, where you'll see how the successive doges made their palace even more impressive with art by 15th-century Italian Renaissance artists. Gaze at Tintoretto's magnificent ceiling frescos, and see Veronese masterpieces such as the Virtues of the Republic. As you walk through the Trial Chambers of the Council of Ten, your guide will point out the vibrant ceiling panel, Juno Bestowing her Gifts on Venice, and the room's dark corner where accusations of treachery were passed to the secret service.
Next, it’s on to the Piombi, the ancient attic prison that traditionally held Venice's upper-class inmates under a lead-cased roof. The Piombi is rarely open to members of the public; enjoy an exclusive walk around these eerie chambers, and see where Casanova, Venice's legendary lover, was cruelly imprisoned.
By the 16th century, the attic prison cells were replaced by the New Prisons, although these horrifying chambers hardly fit the name by today's standards! The New Prisons were joined to Doge’s Palace by the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri), named to signify the prisoners’ sighs as they caught their last glimpse of beautiful Venice. You'll walk across the Bridge of Sighs independently and explore the New Prisons at leisure before your tour ends.
Customer Reviews
April 2014
I've taken a tour of this palace before and had no idea there was so much more to see! The secret passage ways were amazing and it made me laugh to see the faces of people when we would pop out of the wall! The only disappointing thing was after the tour our guide literally just left. There was hardly a goodbye.
April 2014
This was amazing! The history, and what you see and learn is simply unbelievable! You cannot take photos inside this tour, which is a bummer because you want to capture the "secrets" and keep them forever in your collection, but the memory of it will be more important than ever. Highly recommend this tour! You can take pics inside the walls, but not on the "secrets" part of the tour. Truly interesting and amazing experience. You may want to research Cassanova a bit before you go on this tour, you learn a ton!
